Window-cleaning apparatus.



(Application filed July 24, 1901.]

2 Sheets-Sheet Il.

(.No Model.)

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- No. 706,834. Patented Aug. I2, |902.

S. C. LAWLOR.

WINDW CLEANING APPARATUS.

(Application mea .my 24, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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3 5 window-washer.

o joint used in the said handle-bar.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.I

SIMEON C. LAVVLOR, OF DULU'II-I, MINNESOTA.

WINDOW-CLEANlNG APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 706,834, dated August 12, 1902.

.Application iiled July 24, 1901. Serial No. 69,548. (No model.)

5 Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Window-Cleaning Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable ro others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for washing windows, and particularly to such apparatus as is capable ot washing the outsides of windows from theinterior of a room or building.

It comprises a device having a horizontall support upon which it may be moved laterally in a window-opening, a handle-bar mov zo able thereon, a standard carried by the said handle-bar, a movable sleeve moving on said standard and adapted to carry window-washing implements, means for drawing said sleeve downwardly, and means for pulling the sleeve upwardly again, comprising a drum connected with said sleeve by means of a cord, and a spring adapted to rotate the said drum for winding up the said cord.

It also consists in certain other novel con- 3o structions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed. p

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a perspective view of my improved Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view through the upper end of the standard thereof, parts being shown in side elevation. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view through the lower end of the said 4o standard, showing the means of attaching the same to the handle-bar of the device. Fig. 4 is a detail view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of the bar for supporting the washerin a Window-frame, the handle-bar being mounted thereon. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional View of a clamp for securing the handle-bar upon the bar which supports thejwasher in the window-frame. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view in elevation, showing a Fig. 7 is a detail view in elevation of one member of the same.

In embodying my invention in practical form I form the same with a jointed handlebar 1, which is adjustably secured in a sleeve 2. The bar may be locked in its dierent adjusted positions in said sleeve by means of a set-sorew 3, passing through the walls of the sleeve. The said sleeve 2 carries a gripping device upon its under side formed of a semicylindrical bearing portion 4, adapted to rest upon a sleeve 5, which slides loosely upon a supporting-rod 6, the said rod 6 being adapted to be clamped in position on the frame of a window, as will be hereinafter more fully described. For locking the bearing 4 on the said sliding sleeve 5 I employ alatch 7, formed of a U-shaped wire or bent rod, which en `gages at two points bearings 8, formed in a lateral projection 9 of the said semicylindrical bearing 4. One end of the said latch may be formed, if desired, with a loop or ngerring, as 10, by which it may be moved back and forthin the bearings S. When the latch 7 is retracted, the semicylindrical bearing 4 may be placed upon or removed from the sleeve 5. When the said bearing has been placed on the sleeve, it can be easily and quickly locked thereon by operating the latch 7 and be brought into the positions shown in Figs. l, 4, and 5 of the drawings. The sleeve 5 is mounted so as to move easily along the rod 6, so that the washing device can be brought opposite different portions of the window to be cleaned.

The handle-bar lis preferably rectangular in outer contour, so as not to turn in the sleeve 2, within which it closely iits. The said handle-bar is loosely jointed., as at l1 and l2, the joints employed comprising in each case a pair of'meeting jaws or members 413 and 14, which have their meeting faces serrated, as at 16. The meeting faces are adapted to be drawn together after the parts of the bar have been adjusted as desired by a set-screw, as 17, for holding the said parts in their adjusted position or relation.` Joint 12 is used for connecting a handle 1B-with the said handle-bar. The handle-bar can by means of these joints be arranged to bring the handle 18 within easy operating position for the operator of the device.

To the outer end of the handle-bar 1 is secured a vertical standard 19, preferably IOO formed of ahollow bar, which is connected, by means of a hinge 2O at its lower end, to the said handle-bar 1. handle-bar is secured to the lower face of the hinge 20, While the other member extends upwardly past the end of the handle-bar and is secured by bolts or rivets to the standard 19. By this construction the standard may be moved with respect to the handle-bar so as to be brought in the same horizontal plane and facilitate the placing of the apparatus outside a window or drawing the same in again. The end of the handle-bar 1 is preferably inclosed by a casing 21, which extends up a suitable distance from each side to said bar, so as to form a recess to receive the lower end of the standard 19. The said casing 21 and the lower member of the hinge 2O might, if desired, be made integral without departing from the spirit of the invention. In order to hold the standard 19 normally in its upright position, and therefore at right angles to the handle-bar 1, I employ a springpressed latch or catch 22, which engages a pin 23, secured between the side walls of the casing 21. By releasing the catch 22 from the pin 23 the standard 19 may be lowered upon thehinge 20 at any time. The standard 19 extends upwardly to a suitable height to easily reach Windows of ordinary construction and has sliding upon it a sleeve 24, adapted to carry Window-washing implements of any desired type, as at 25. The said sleeve 24 is formed with lugs 26 and 27, an operating-cord 28 being connected with the lug 26 for drawing the sleeve downward. The said cord 28 passes about a pulley 29, journaled between the sides of the housings 21, after which the cord 28 passes forwardly to a point near the handle 18, so as to be within easy reach of the operator of the device. The perforated lug 27 has secured toit a cord 30, Which passes upwardly through a pulley 31, mounted on a bracket 32, which is rigidly secured on the standard 19 near the upper end thereof. The cord thence passes around a second guidingpulley 33, journaled on said bracket 32, and then to a winding drum or spool 34. The spool 34 is arranged with its axis coinciding with the axis on the standard 19 and isjournaled on the lupper end of the rod or bar 35, Which extends downwardly into the open end of the said standard 19, being rigidly iixed therein. The drum 34 rests upon bearings on the upper end of the standard 19. These bearings are preferably ball-bearings, as 36, so that there will be little or no friction between the drum and the end of the standard. The drum is normallyturned so as to wind up the cord 30 by means of a coil-spring 37, which is secured at its upper end to the said drum, while at its lower end it is fastened to the stationary rod 35. By pulling the sleeve 24 downwardly on the standard the cord 30 will be unwound from the drum 34 through the action of the spring 37. The sleeve 24 is preferably guided in its movement on the standard 19 by means One member of the said of inwardly-projecting splines or feathers 3S and 39, which engage grooves 40 and 41, formed in the standard 19. The said sleeve is also provided with eyes or apertured lugs 42 and 43 diametrically opposite the apertured lugs 26 and 27, so that when the washer is used to clean the inside of a window the sleeve may be turned around upon the standard 19 so that its washing implement will project in the opposite direction from that shown in Fig. 1. In this instance the operating-cords 28 and 30 will be attached, respectively, to the apertured lugs 42 and 43 of the said sleeve for moving the sleeve up and down, as desired.

The bar 6, which supports the handle-bar 1 in its position in the frame of the window, is preferably a hollow tube made of suitable length and open at its ends. Screw-threaded rods 44 and 45 extend into the opposite ends of said tubular bar 6 and engage cap-pieces 46 and 47, which bear on the ends of the said bar. Each of the cap-pieces 46 and 47 is formed with a reduced portion 48,'adapted to project into the end of the tubular bar 6 and may be secured therein by means of set-screws, as 49, or other similar means. The screws 44 are provided at their outer endswith window-frame-engaging shoes, as 50. The said screws 44 and 45 are preferably threaded in opposite directions, so that by turning the said rod 6 with respect to the said screws they may be forced outwardly for tightly clamping the bar in position between the sides of the window-frame. The inner ends of the screws 44 and 45 are also preferably formed with'spacing heads or washers, as 51, adapted to slide in the bore of the said rod. Supporting-standards, as 52, are attached to each of the shoes 50 for holding the said bar 6 at a suitable height in the window-frame. y

It will be apparent from the above description that my device is particularly well adapted for'the washing of windows both upon the inner and the outer sides thereof, and the parts can be readily adjusted for the different purposes for which it is intended.

The device may be made in a light form, so as to be easily operated, and can be made in a very inexpensive manner.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A window-washing apparatus comprising a supporting-bar, a handle-bar adapted to move thereon, a sliding sleeve supporting said handle-bar on the supporting-bar, a sleeve secured to the handle-bar and provided with a bearing for partially surrounding the said sliding sleeve, and a latch for holding the said bearing upon the said sleeve, substantially as described.

2. In a window-washer, the combination with a supporting-bar, of a sleeve sliding -thereon, a handle-bar extending across the sleeve, a second sleeve for supporting the IIO handle-bar, the said second sleeve being provided with a semicylindrical bearing,the latch for holding the bearing in the said sliding sleeve comprising a bent piece of materialengaging the bearings in the said semicylindrical bearing portion, the said latch being adapted to lock the semicylindrical bearing upon the sliding sleeve, substantially as described.

I 3. In a Window-washer a handle-bar and a vertical standard, a hinge connecting the standard to the handle-bar, a housing inclosing the end of the handle-bar and adapted to receive the end of the standard for holding the same properlyin position, and means for holding lthe standard normally in a vertical position, the structure being such that when said means is raised the said standard is straightened out to the plane of the handlebar for moving the apparatus from a Wir-iow or placing it therein, substantially as described.

4. A Window-washer comprising a handlebar, a standard hinged thereto, a sleeve sliding upon said standard and adapted to carry window-washing tools, means for pulling the sleeve upwardly comprising a cord connected with the sleeve and a spring-actuated drum for Winding up said cord, and means for pulling the sleeve down against the action of said spring-drum, substantially as described.

5. A Window-Washer, comprising ahandlebar, astandard carried at the outer end thereof, an implement-carrying sleeve moving on said bar, a drum mounted on the upper end of the standard and having its axis in coincidence With the axis of the standard, a coilspring secured to said drum at one end and to a portion of the standard at the other end, and a cord connecting the drum with the implement-carrying sleeve, the structure being such that the spring-drum will always tend to Wind up the cord and draw the sleeve up- Wardly on the standard, sl1-':s1ar1iiai1y. as described.

6. A Window-washer comprising a handlebar,-a standard carried thereby, an implementcarrying sleeve moving on said standard, splines connecting the said sleeves with grooves in the standard for guiding the sleeve in its movement thereon, a rod mdnnted interiorly of the said standard, the said standard being hollow, the said rod projecting above the upper end of the standard, a drum journaled on the projecting end of the said rod, a spring surrounding the said rod and secured thereto at one end and to the said pulley at the other end for turning the pulley on its bearings, bearings interposed beerator of the Washer, the structure being such that by pulling on the cord the sleeve Will be brought downwardly upon the standard and upon releasing the cord the spring-actuated drum will Wind it up again and raise the sleeve upon the standard, substantially as described.

7. A WindoW-washer comprising a supporting-rod,a handle-bar movably mounted thereon, the said handle-bar being jointed, to accommodate it to different positions occupied by the apparatus, a standard hinged to the outer end of the said handle-bar, a casing'inclosing the outer end of the handle-bar and receiving the lower end of the standard, a spring-pressed latch pivoted to the standard and engaging a pin carried by the said casing, a pulley journaled in said casing, animplement-carrying sleeve movably mounted on the standard, an operating-cord connected with eyes on the said sleeve, the cord passing about the pulley in the said casing to a point Within easy reach of the operator of the device, and spring-actuated means at the top of the standard for raising the sleeve, substantially as described.

8. Al Window-Washing apparatus comprising a supporting-bar, a handle-bar adapted to movethereon, a bearing on the handle-bar partially surrounding the supporting-bar,and a latch for holding the said bearing upon the supporting-bar, substantially as described.

9. A Window-Washer comprising a handlebar, a standard carried thereby, a Washingimplement carrier moving on said standard, a spring-actuated drum mounted upon the upper end of said standard, and rotatable on a horizontal plane, a cord attached to said drum and secured to said carrier for moving the same in one direction, means guiding said cord in its movement, and means for moving said carrier in an opposite direction against the action of said spring, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses'.

SIMEON C. LAVVLOR.

Witnesses:

JAMES T. WA'rsoN, S. l-I. ECKMAN.

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